A new chapter in George's life
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: First Murdoch Mysteries fanfic, with spoilers from 816 and 817. What if Sgt. Brooks was more understanding? My reimagining of the events of the final three episodes of Season 8, as well as what happens afterwards. Please read and review!
1. Ups and Downs (George's POV)

**Author's note: The idea for this story has been cooking in my mind for a while. It is my reimagining of the events that took place in the final three episodes of Season 8, where I'd like to see that Crabtree actually getting the promotion to detective.**

**First Murdoch Mysteries story, although I currently have a _Scooby-Doo_ and _Murdoch Mysteries_ crossover in process. If you want, please give the crossover, titled _D6 Victorian Scooby-Doo: The Phantom Smugglers!_, a read and review!**

**I don't own _Murdoch Mysteries_.**

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Chapter 1: Ups and downs

_Early December, 1902_

Constable George Crabtree finished his shift and clocked out at five o'clock as usual. As he prepares to head home, he took a glance at the calendar on the watch sergeants desk on his way out.

One more week to go before he hangs up his constables tunic for good.

As George looked at the calendar, several thoughts went through his mind.

Three weeks ago, he solved the murder of Handsome Randolph Henderson while uncovering deception and fraud in the wrestling match. After that case, Inspector Brackenreid informed him that Station House Three is in need for a new Detective and that he had put his name forward.

A few days later, Crabtree had an interview with Inspector Davis at Station House Three, along with several other candidates from other station houses.

Then, on the provincial election day, Brackenreid informed him that he had been selected to be the new detective at that station house, which was good news for him.

That same day, George proposed to his sweetheart Edna, and she accepted.

Just as George thought that things couldn't get any better, as he is going to get married and have a family, as well as working as a detective, things hit a massive speed bump.

Canadian Militia Sergeant Archibald Brooks, Edna's husband and Simon's father who was thought to be dead from the war in South Africa, returned.

The sergeant was accompanied by his commanding officer when he returned home, surprising George, Edna and Simon.

As it turned out, Sergeant Brooks was injured during a barrage and was in a coma during the time where there was a mess-up in the paper work that resulted in him being declared dead. By the time the militia realized the mix-up, the news had already reached Edna and Simon.

With Sergeant Brooks' return, Edna Brooks transformed from soon-to-be Mrs. George Crabtree back to Mrs. Archibald Brooks.

Turned out that Sergeant Brooks was an understanding man. A few days after his return, George ran into him while doing his patrol shift.

The two men sat down to have a talk. Brooks didn't seem happy about George proposing to his wife while he's still alive, but he was very grateful for George's help to his wife and son. In fact, he mentioned that George's mannerisms reminded him of one of his close comrades that died in the war and after a chat with Edna about Georges situation, it was decided that George can become part of the family where Simon refers to him as "Uncle George".

It didn't really satisfy George that much, but he knew it was a good compromise. The only thing is, he now is back to being a bachelor.

As George exited the station house, he sighed before deciding to go for a walk in the nearby park, hoping that the long walk can clear his mind.

The sky was already dark, and the weather was getting colder. There was already snow on the ground, and it will not be long before Christmas arrives.

Eventually, he arrived at the park, standing by a bench near a small creek.

Deciding to rest his feet from his day-long shift, George went to the bench to sit and relax.

As George stares at the frozen creek in front of him, his mind travelled to the past three years.

After his mentor Detective Murdoch got suspended for interfering with the investigation of a murder at a Alice in Wonderland-themed party three years back, he was briefly promoted to acting detective to take his place.

It was during that time that he met the then-new coroner Doctor Emily Grace for the first time during a murder investigation.

Dr. Grace was, for a time, a love interest of him. She first took an interest into him after he and Henry were injured in an explosion three years back. Their friendship blossomed during the time Station House Four had its baseball game with Station House Five that year and subsequently during the New Years Police Ball where he was encouraged by his mentor to invite the doctor.

They had their first kiss during a crazy day that occurred two years back when someone threatened to release a "Cloud of Doom" to the citizens of Toronto, a threat that turned out to be a hoax. Their relationship continued to grow afterwards.

However, everything went sideways the year before, after the death of Doctor Ogden's first husband Doctor Darcy Garland. The late-doctors younger brother Leslie appeared in Toronto and Emily took an interest in him, leading to their breakup.

Turned out that Emily's new relationship with Leslie didn't last long. He turned out to be the culprit of the threatening notes Doctor Ogden received following the fall of James Gillies. She broke up with him with a slap when the truth came out.

However, George was already hurt by her betrayal of his feelings, and when she tried to convince him that she made a mistake on the night an industrialist was strapped by a bomb that blows up if there is too much noise, he refused to buy her story and walked away.

As his mind travelled back to that day, he now wondered if he had been too harsh on her.

Just then, his ears picked up footsteps on the pathway.

Snapping back to reality, George turned to look.

His heart pounded when he realized that the person walking towards his direction was Doctor Grace.

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	2. Ups and Downs (Emily's POV)

Chapter 2: Ups and downs (Emily's POV)

Doctor Emily Grace carried on with her finishing touches of the reports after Lillian Moss stormed off, frustrated at her lack of desire to move to England with her.

There wasn't much for her to do after the reports were finished, so she clocked out at around 5:30 and headed home.

As she made her way out of the morgue, she walked passed a calendar.

One more week to go before George starts his new job at Station House 3 as a Detective.

As she thought about George, her mind traveled back to the day she first met him.

Three years ago, she was hired as the city's new coroner. It was during one of her first murder investigations as the city's coroner that she first met then-Acting Detective George Crabtree.

Their relationship originally started out as professional, but she first took an interest in him after George and Henry got injured in an explosion that appeared to be the doing of an anarchist organization a few months after she started out as the city's coroner.

Their relationship soon blossomed during the time Station House 4 competed with Station House 5 in a baseball game.

She was quite grateful when George stepped in to stop her ex-fiance, a hockey player playing for the Wellingtons at the time, from assaulting her.

Their relationship continued to grow after George invited her over to the New Years Police Ball, and they had their first kiss two years ago on a crazy day when an anonymous madman threatened to release a "Cloud of Doom" to the citizens of Toronto, a threat that turned out to be a hoax.

However, everything went sideways for their relationship in the past year following the death of Doctor Ogden's first husband Dr. Darcy Garland.

The late doctors younger, handsome brother Leslie arrived at Toronto, and she was charmed by his gentleman-like appearance.

Her interest in Leslie Garland stirred up tension between her and George during the time when Detective Murdoch devised a plan to stop Eva Pearce. Their relationship was quite shaky at that point, as she never got over George kissing another girl during a filmed production on Murdoch's adventures as a detective several weeks earlier.

George subsequently broke up with her when he witnessed her kissing Leslie at the station house when she was undercover during that scheme.

Leslie started to court her in the same time she broke up with George, but everything fell apart when they ran into Detective Murdoch, Doctor Ogden and Inspector Brackenreid during a date.

Turned out that Leslie was the one that was sending threatening notes to Doctor Ogden to stop her from marrying Detective Murdoch, and he was even proud of doing it, referring to it as "a joke".

Having realized the truth about Leslie Garland, she broke up with him with a slap and stormed off, trying hard not to cry as she did.

It was after her break-up with Leslie did she realized that she have made a huge mistake in dumping George.

One night, she came to him and tried to explain her actions to him, hoping that he could give her a second chance.

However, the damage was already done. George was still reeling by her dumping of him during the Eva Pearce sting, and he stormed off after telling her his thoughts.

But then, she managed to find a new close friend in the form of Lillian Moss.

She first met Lillian when she joined the woman's suffrage movement, and the duo became quite close friends.

While their relationship was close, it was also rather spiky, as Lillian seemed forced in asking her to do things, and the duo didn't see eye to eye on some things, such as her unwillingness to move to England with her to support the woman's suffrage movement there.

Emily considered the fact that she being a coroner was already a good enough symbol of woman striding for equal rights, whereas Lillian didn't have a known job other than being an activist.

Lillian countered that she should move to England to help with the woman's suffrage movement there instead of staying at her job in Toronto.

It was then that she stormed off, leaving Emily alone in the morgue.

At this moment, Emily decided to go for a stroll in the park to clear her mind before making her way home.

The sky was already dark outside, and there was snow on the ground. It won't be long before Christmas arrives.

It didn't take long for Emily to arrive at the park. As she did, she decided to take a walk on the path next to the frozen creek.

Walking towards a bench situated in front of the frozen creek, she spotted a familiar-looking custodian helmet sported by a man sitting on the bench.

Thinking it was a constable slacking off on the job, she decided to walk over when the figure turned towards her.

The dim lamp light shined down onto the man's face and Emily realized that the man was Constable George Crabtree, who was off-duty.

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	3. The encounter

Chapter 3: The encounter

"Constable Crabtree." Dr. Grace said as she approached George at the bench.

"Doctor Grace." George replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good." There was a brief pause before she added, "By the way, I didn't have a chance to congratulate you on your promotion to detective."

"Oh, no worry's, Doctor. It was a surprise for me."

"Well, you deserved it, George! Now you can do what Detective Murdoch does, solving crimes and catching criminals." Emily praised.

George nodded. Emily's encourage provided a spark that lightened up his mood, although he was still hurt by the reality that he is no longer engaged to his sweetheart.

Sensing that George didn't appeared happy, Emily asked, "Well, what seemed to be the matter, George? You don't look really happy for someone who had earned a promotion to detective."

"Oh, don't worry. Everything's alright." He said, trying to hide his feelings.

However, the look on Doctor Grace's face indicated that she was concerned about his mood.

"Are you sure, George?" She pressed. "Please be honest with me."

Inside George's mind, there was a flash thought for him to continue to hide his true feelings. However, the look on Doctor Grace's face told him that he won't be able to hide his feelings from her for long.

Their relationship may be over, but given that he had been courting her for two years, he figured that she still knows him well and can read his feelings correctly.

Finally, he decided to open up in spite of his doubts of being able to trust her again after the Leslie Garland affair.

"Well, Emily, I supposed you have been aware that I have been courting Mrs. Edna Brooks in the past while ever since the whole O'Shea affair, are you not?"

"Yes, I am aware of that, George. Please go on." Emily said as she took a seat beside George.

"Okay. So on the day Inspector Davis selected me to be his new detective at Station House 3, I proposed to Edna. Now before I go on, I should note that she has a stepson named Simon who was in need for a father. Simon's father, who is a Sergeant with the Militia, had gone off to fight the war in South Africa a few years back and was killed in action."

Emily nodded understandingly. "Then, what happened?"

"Well, Edna accepted the proposal, and we were engaged. However, that night, Sergeant Brooks returned, accompanied by his commanding officer."

Emily was surprised. "Returned from the dead? As a zombie? You said he was killed in action in the war."

"He was declared dead, or that's what Edna was told." George explained. "There was a mix-up in the paper work that resulted in Sgt. Brooks being declared dead, and the news was sent. By the time the Militia realized the mix-up, Edna and Simon had already received the news."

"Wasn't Sgt. Brooks able to communicate with his family when he was injured?"

"Well, he was in a coma for a while, and by the time the Militia realized the mix-up and sent the news about it, he had recovered and was already on his way home with his regiment."

"So as a result of his return, you had to annual your engagement to Edna, George."

"That's right." George nodded. "Well, that sure meant that I'm back to being a bachelor."

"How unfortunate." Emily agreed. George turned to look at her and saw only sympathy in her eyes. There was some silence after that remark.

Finally, Emily broke the silence by asking, "So George, I am curious in finding out what were you doing sitting at the bench all alone?"

"To be honest, Emily, I felt the need to clear my mind after work, so I decided to take a long walk and then sit here to clear my mind. Then you showed up."

"Sorry for interrupting, George. I happen to be-"

"No, no. It's okay, Emily. I think I needed your intrusion to lighten my mood after what has transpired in the past two weeks."

"Oh, very well, then." Emily smiled.

"Speaking of that, I was wondering if you still, uh, care for me, Emily."

"Care for you?" Emily excitingly asked. "Why, I still do, George. What makes you think I don't?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. It's just that I was thinking about what has happened between you and me in the past three years, and given that I'm back to being single again, I was hoping that you still keep the idea of restarting our relationship open." Emily can see the regret of his treatment of her in the past year in his eyes as he finished his sentence.

"Really, George?" Emily asked as she placed her hands into George's hand. He nodded.

"Oh, I just needed this to lighten my mood after what happened during the afternoon." She said happily.

"So what happened?" George asked

Emily's smile lightened as she said, "First, before I can tell you what had happened, there is a secret I don't know if I can trust you to keep."

George was silent for a second, then he said, "Well, I think this should make up my inability to trust you much after the, uh, Leslie Garland affair."

"Alright, then." Emily said. She then proceeded to tell George of her fallout with Lillian in the afternoon, mentioning that they've been courting for a few months. George listened silently and nodded when she finished.

"I see. Well, don't you worry, Emily. I will not let that secret come to light, regardless of any circumstances. I may felt hurt by your poor decision last year, but I still don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Oh, thank you, George!" Emily said happily as she gave George a hug.

After the hug, George added, "And thank you for making my day better, Emily. After what I went through in the past few days, I really needed someone to comfort me."

"Oh, that's not necessary, George." Emily smiled. "Care to escort me home?"

"I'd certainly be happy to, Emily."

As the duo stood up, unbeknownst to both of them, a figure was watching them silently, hiding in the nearby bush.

He then aimed his pistol at Emily. Soon, there were gunshots.

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**Note: This is the cliffhanger I'd imagined for Season 8 to end in if the season finale followed through with this fanfic, where the dark, shadowed figure holding a pistol takes aim at George and Emily, and then the screen turns black as some gunshots can be heard.**

**How do you think of this cliffhanger? Please read and review!**


	4. The response

Chapter 4: The response

Later that evening, Inspector Thomas Brackenreid was relaxing at home with his family, reading the evening newspaper after dinner, when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Margaret said as she went for the telephone.

"This is Margaret Brackenreid." Margaret answered.

A pause.

"Oh, Inspector Brackenreid?"

A pause.

"Yes, I'll get him."

She then put down the phone and went to her husband. "Thomas, it's an Inspector Davis on the phone. He needs to speak with you urgently."

"Oh, I'll see what Davis wants to talk to me about." The inspector replied as he got up and went to the phone.

"Hello, Davis. It's me. What is it?"

A pause.

"What?"

A pause with a look of shock on his face.

"Bloody h*ll. Where is he?"

A pause.

"Alright. I'll get there straight away." He then hung up.

As Thomas hung up the phone, Margaret came to him. She then saw a somber look on her husband's face.

"What's the matter, Thomas? What did Davis told you?" She asked.

Looking at his wife, Thomas replied urgently, "I need to telephone Murdoch, then we head to the General Hospital immediately. I'll explain on the way."

He then grabbed the phone and dialed another number.

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At their hotel suite, Detective William Murdoch and his wife Doctor Julia Ogden were enjoying the evening. Both of them were reading, with Julia reading a medical journal while William was reading the evening newspaper.

Their silent evening was interrupted by the ring of the telephone.

"I'll go get it." William said as he stood up.

"Detective Murdoch." He said as he answered the phone.

A pause.

"Oh, what is it, sir?"

A pause.

"What?"

A pause, with a look of surprise on his face.

"Good lord!"

A pause.

"Alright. Julia and I are on our way." He then hung up.

"What's the matter, William?" Julia asked when William turned to face her and saw the somber look on his face.

Trying hard not to let his emotions get the best of him, William said. "George has been shot."

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As it turned out, a constable from Station House Three (The park is located within the jurisdiction of that station house) was patrolling on the nearby street when the gunshots rang out. Immediately, he raced into the park and in spite of the darkness, he soon saw a figure hiding behind a bush.

Judging that the bush was the source of the gunshot, the constable immediately blew his whistle before shouting "Hey! You there!"

The figure saw the approaching constable and took off running when he saw another constable responding to the whistle he had just heard from his colleague.

However, in the panic of trying to flee from the scene, the figure crossed the nearby frozen creek and fell through the thin ice!

"I'll check the bush while you go get backup and try to help the man in the frozen creek." The first constable shouted to his partner, who nodded and raced away to get backup.

The constable then raced to the bush, where he saw a man lying on a woman trying to get up.

"Excuse me, madam. Are you alright?" The constable asked as he approached the woman.

"I am, constable, but Constable Crabtree here needs help!" Dr. Grace, who was trying to get up when George pushed her to the ground before taking the bullet, replied urgently.

The constable looked at George. He was bleeding at the shoulder, and he doesn't seem conscious.

"Help is on the way." The constable replied urgently upon seeing that the man on the ground is his fellow officer of the law and seeing more constables arriving.

As the constable went to the creek to help the man with another constable, Emily got a clean cloth and used it to bandage the wound George got.

Taking a look at his wrist, Emily was relieved to see a pulse. It was weak, but it was a sign that George is still alive.

"Stay with me, George. Please!" Emily whispered as she applied first aid as one of the arriving constables shouted, "Call for an ambulance!"

* * *

Soon, George was carried off to the hospital on an ambulance with Emily accommodating him while the constables handcuffed the man they had rescued from the frozen creek and confiscated his pistol.

As the man looked blankly at the pistol one of the constables was holding in front of him, the constable that initially responded to the shooting said to him, "Taking a shot at an officer of the law, will you?"

The man did not answer, as he was still shivering cold from the water.

"You better hope the constable, soon to-be detective, survives, or you will soon be facing the noose!"

As the constables loaded the man onto the patrol wagon, one of the other constables asked. "How did you know that the constable that was shot was promoted, Greg?"

"I remember seeing him at Inspector Davis' office the other day, for the interview for our station house's detective." The constable named Greg replied. "Then, last week I heard the inspector saying Crabtree's name while telephoning Station House Four. The lad that was shot is from Station House Four, and the doctor that was at the scene when he was shot referred to him as Constable Crabtree."

"I see." His partner said.

"Speaking of Inspector Davis, we better inform him that our new detective has been shot, Lawson." A third constable said.

"Right. Let's go." Constable Lawson quickly said.

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	5. In the hospital

Chapter 5: The hospital

He felt numb and his shoulder feels like as if a sharp object was lodged into it. He couldn't move much, as any movement will make his shoulder hurt even more.

When the first gunshot rang out, the first thing that caught his mind was to push Emily onto the ground. As he did so, he felt something hitting his shoulder at an enormous speed. Looking at his shoulder, he noted that it has begun to bleed.

In pain, he fell to the ground, landing on Emily in the process, and was unable to move due to the pain.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was a police whistle.

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Detective Murdoch and Doctor Ogden arrived at Toronto General Hospital's emergency ward. They proceeded straight to the hospital room Inspector Brackenreid mentioned that Constable Crabtree is at.

When they arrive at the doorway, they were greeted by a doctor.

"Detective Murdoch?" The doctor asked.

"That's me." Murdoch replied.

"Doctor Franklin Campbell." The doctor said as he shook hands with Murdoch and Ogden. "I am sorry about what happened to your constable."

"How is George?" Doctor Ogden asked.

"He's still in a coma. However, he would've been in a much worst state if it weren't for Doctor Grace, who arrived with him."

"Doctor Grace is here?" Murdoch asked.

"Yes. She's currently sitting by his side."

"May we?" Ogden asked, her hand gesturing towards George's room.

"Certainly."

Soon, Murdoch and Ogden enters George's room. In addition to Doctor Grace, they also saw Constable Higgins, Constable Jackson, Inspector Brackenreid, Mrs. Brackenreid and a few constables from Station House Three in the room with George.

"Murdoch." Brackenreid said as Murdoch crossed himself.

"Hello, sir. How long has George been here?" Murdoch asked as Ogden moved to comfort Emily, who had tears in her eyes and is accompanied by Mrs. Brackenreid.

"He arrived with Doctor Grace about half-an-hour ago, sir." Henry replied, and Murdoch can see the troubling look on his face.

"I see." Murdoch nodded. "Where's Inspector Davis?"

"He's coming over soon, Detective." One of the lads from Station House Three replied. "We manage to catch the coward that did this, and he is currently in custody."

"Oh." Murdoch said, raising an eyebrow. "Who initially responded to the shooting?"

"I did." Another constable from Station House Three said, stepping forward. "I was patrolling the nearby street when the shots rang out."

"I see." Murdoch nodded. "And your name is?"

"Constable Greg Lawson." Lawson replied.

"Alright, Constable Lawson." Brackenreid says. "Care to tell us what happened?"

"I'd be happy to, inspector."

As Constable Lawson gives Murdoch and Brackenreid a short but complete resume on what had happened, Ogden came to Margaret and Emily.

"Julia. Thank you for coming." Margaret smiled.

"No need to thank me." Julia smiled sadly. "I should thank you for your support, Margaret."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I only hope Constable Crabtree recovers from this." Margaret replied. "I think you should do something to Doctor Grace, in the meantime. She doesn't seem confortable."

Julia nodded as she placed her hand on Emily's back gently.

Emily looked up as Julia said, "Emily, I understand you were with George when it happened. It must have been traumatic to witness such a thing."

"It is." Emily said between sobs. "I can't let George leave me like this, not at a time when we just found each other again after what we have went through."

"Don't worry, Emily." Julia said reassuringly. "George is a strong man. He will recover from this."

Julia said the words, but deep down even she has doubts on whether George can survive.

"It is just that he have agreed to restart our relationship moments before he got shot." Emily said. "And now that he have gotten into this mess, I really don't know what to do, other than praying that he survives."

"Well, Emily, you're not the only person who is praying for George to survive. I just want you to know that you will always have my sympathies." Julia reassured her as Margaret nodded at her.

"Oh, thank you, Julia, Mrs. Brackenreid." Emily replied. "There's never been someone who is a great friend than you, as well as being supportive as Mrs. Brackenreid."

"There's no need to thank us, Emily. That's what friends are for." Margaret smiled.

Emily nodded.

After a while, Julia asked, "Emily, sorry for asking but what happened at the park?"

"Well, George was planning to escort me home when the first shot was fired. The bullet hit my purse, though." Emily said as she showed Julia the bullet hole in her purse. "Then, George pushed me to the ground just as the second shot was fired. It was that shot that hit him, causing him to fall on me. It was then that we heard police whistles."

"I see." Julia nodded. "Well, at least they managed to caught the coward that did it, so the only thing you need to pray for is George waking up."

Meanwhile, Constable Lawson had finished his description of events to Murdoch and Brackenreid when Inspector Davis arrived.

"Davis." Brackenreid says.

"Brackenreid." Davis replied as he shook Brackenreid's hand. "I'm terribly sorry on what happened to Constable Crabtree."

"Well, at least you have the bloody coward that did it in your cell, Davis." Brackenreid said.

"True." Davis nodded. "However, we weren't able to get much from him. He asked for a lawyer as soon as my men locked him up."

"Oh?" Murdoch asked, raising an eyebrow. "Were you able to get his identity, sir?"

"Yes." Davis replied. "The man goes by the name of Mack Bush, a petty crook that has done some time in Buffalo prisons south of the border."

"What crimes are you talking about?" Brackenreid asked.

"Well, he did time for theft and manslaughter, sirs." Lawson replied. "However, you should note that there was something odd about those cases: The time he served in prison."

"What about it?" Brackenreid asked.

"He managed to get off with a two-year sentence for that manslaughter case instead of the minimum seven-years." Davis replied.

"How come?" Murdoch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He had a pretty good lawyer who managed to convince the judge to give him a break, sir." Lawson replied.

"Bloody lawyer." Brackenreid muttered in frustration. "Now that his client has threatened the life of an officer of the law, how is he going to explain himself?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of town, a figure sitting at a desk in a dark area was reading the evening newspaper.

"POLICE CONSTABLE SHOT

Constable George Crabtree of Station House Four shot in park while off-duty"

"That clumsy idiot! Why did he race towards the creek?" The figure muttered in frustration as he read the news.

At that moment, the telephone on his desk rang, and he reached over to answer it.

"Yes, speaking."

Pause.

"Oh, I see."

Pause.

"Alright. I'll be right over."

After hanging up the phone, he then turned to another figure that had just entered the room.

"Joe, now is the opportunity to finish off what Mack has failed to accomplish. Make sure that constable's room is unguarded and have the needle ready."

That figure nodded and then left the room.

The figure in the room then grabbed his dark grey coat and fedora and made his way out. Along the way, he passed by a framed photo of Doctor Darcy Garland and whispered, "I'll make sure that detective and that traitorous ex-wife of yours gets taught a lesson through my plan to hurt their close friend, my dear brother."

He then quietly exited the office.

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**Sure wonder who is that figure?**

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	6. Another attempt on George's life

Chapter 6: Another attempt on George's life

A few hours later, George emerged from the operating room where he had the lodged bullet removed from his shoulder. He was then placed in a room where a nurse and doctor will be monitoring his condition once every two hours.

By then, only Higgins, Doctor Grace and Jackson were at the hospital, waiting for George to wake up. They were all seated on a bench at the reception, a few rooms away from George's room.

It didn't take long for the three of them to fall asleep on their chairs.

A few moments later, Higgins has woke up, unable to get some sleep from thinking about his friend and colleague.

As Higgins got up and looked around, he was planning to use the nearby washroom when he spotted a figure in the shadows near George's room.

The figure looked around and then took out something that looked like a thin tube before entering George's room.

Higgins frowned. "That's odd. Isn't George's room supposed to be off limits to visitors?" He wondered.

Armed with his baton, he quietly made his way to George's room.

As he enters, he was shocked to see a man about to inject something into George through a needle!

"Hey you, sir!" He shouted as he stormed towards the man.

The man looked up and saw the approaching constable and tried to race out of the room, but Henry stood in his way, so he then tried to use the needle on him.

However, Henry managed to knock the needle off the man's hand by using his baton, causing the needle to break on the floor.

At this moment, Emily and Jackson woke up from the glass shattering coming from George's room.

"What was that?" Emily asked. "And where's Constable Higgins?"

"George may be in trouble. Come on!" Jackson replied before he and Emily raced towards George's room.

The duo entered to see Higgins in a scuffle with a man, with broken glass pieces that once formed the part of a needle shattered around them with a pool of liquid.

"Higgins!" Jackson shouted. "What's going on?"

"Help me first, Jackson!" Higgins replied urgently.

Soon, the man that attempted to inject something into George was subdued by Jackson and handcuffed as Emily went to check on George.

"What happened, Constable Higgins?" She asked.

With a hint of anger in his voice, Higgins replied, "This man was trying to inject poison into George!"

* * *

Later in the morning, George's room was filled once again by lads from Station Houses Four and Three, along with Inspector Brackenreid and Detective Murdoch.

"Good thinking, Higgins." Brackenreid praised once Higgins finished his account on what had happened in the early morning.

As the lads took the man into custody, Higgins turned to Murdoch, "You know, sir, I've got a feeling that there's someone who is conspiring with these two men to kill George."

Murdoch nodded. "I agree, Henry. Two attempts on George's life on the same night is something beyond a coincidence."

"We better find the bloody coward that planned this." Brackenreid huffed angrily. He then turned to the lads and added, "I want two men guarding Crabtree's room at all times until we get to the bottom of this bloody business!"

* * *

Back at Station House Four, the lads were doing their work as usual with two constables on guard at George's room when the chief constable arrived. He has been informed of the events that has transpired by Inspectors Davis and Brackenreid.

The new chief constable has replaced Chief Constable Giles following the uncovering of Giles' past and involvement in the murder of a constable back in 1881. He appeared to be quite young, with much of his dusty-brown hair chased away by the grey. While neither Murdoch nor Brackenreid have much interaction with the man since his promotion a few months back, they learned that the man is more reasonable than Giles despite his no-nonsense personality when it comes to policing.

As he arrived at the station house, all of the lads noticed that he was accompanied by Constable Lawson.

"As you can all see, gentleman, Constable George Crabtree was shot yesterday evening at the park and just this early morning, there has been another attempt on his life." The chief constable begin. "As Inspector Brackenreid and Detective Murdoch suggested, having two failed attempts on the constables life in the same night is something beyond a coincidence. That certainly tells me, and I'm pretty sure all of you will agree, that there is someone out there that wants Constable Crabtree dead."

He then turned to Brackenreid and Murdoch and said, "I want you to make apprehending the man behind these murder attempts your top priority, gentlemen. I want you to show that coward that attempting to take the life of an officer of the law will **_not_** be tolerated!"

The chief constable then turned to Lawson and added, "In the meantime, Constable Gregory Lawson from Station House Three will take Constable Crabtree's place in the station house until he is fully recovered and the mystery cleared up."

* * *

After booking the man that was caught attempting to inject poison into George, Murdoch decided to pay a visit to the hospital again, accompanied by Higgins and Lawson.

Doctor Grace was sitting in George's room the whole morning and was still praying that he wakes up when the trio arrived.

"Doctor Grace." Murdoch said as he, Higgins and Lawson entered the room. "How's George doing?"

"He's condition has improved a little bit, but there's no telling when will he get out of his coma." Emily replied.

Murdoch nodded. Before he could say something, three figures entered the room.

Turning, Murdoch noted that they were the Brooks'.

"Detective Murdoch." Edna said as she saw Murdoch.

"Mrs. Brooks." Murdoch nodded. Looking at Simon and Archibald, he added, "Sergeant Brooks, Simon. How are you?"

"We're doing alright." Sergeant Brooks replied. "As soon as we received the news on George getting shot, Simon insisted that we come see him."

It was then that the trio noticed that Emily was also there. "Uh, who's the lady with Uncle George?" Simon asked.

Turning to Emily, Murdoch realized that the Brooks haven't been introduced to Doctor Grace.

"Oh, um, Doctor Grace." Murdoch says, getting Emily's attention. As Emily looked at Murdoch, he gestured to each of the Brooks and said, "I will like you to meet Sergeant Archibald Brooks, his wife Mrs. Edna Brooks and his son Simon Brooks. They're all friends of George."

Turning to the Brooks, he added, "Sergeant Brooks, Mrs. Brooks, Simon, I'll like you to meet Doctor Emily Grace. She's the city's coroner and is also a friend to George."

Each of the Brooks offered their hand to Emily as Archibald said, "It's nice meeting you, Doctor."

"Likewise, Sergeant Brooks." Emily nodded as she shook hands with Archibald.

It was then that Edna said to Archibald, "Archie, Simon and I are going to step outside for a talk with the doctor."

"Alright, suit yourself, Edna." Archibald nodded and then nodded at Emily, who then got up and joined Edna and Simon outside.

* * *

**Wonder what is Doctor Grace going to talk to Edna and Simon about?**

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	7. Possible involvement

Chapter 7: Possible involvement

"So how's George doing?" Archibald asked as he and Murdoch are left alone with George.

"He's got out of surgery at around two in the morning and according to Doctor Grace, it appears his condition has improved a bit but there's no telling when will he get out of his coma." William replied.

"I see." Archibald nodded.

"However, about an hour after he got out of surgery, a man sneaked into George's room and tried to inject poison into him."

"Good Lord! He didn't succeed, didn't he?"

"No, he didn't. Constable Higgins, one of the two constables that are currently stationed outside of George's room, managed to step in and stop him before he could succeed in killing George. The man is currently locked in the cells of Station House Four."

"That's good. Sure hate to imagine how things would have turned out if he had actually succeed."

"I agree. In the meantime, I actually was going to ask you if you know a 'Joey Masters'? He's the man that got caught this morning after failing to poison George."

Murdoch recalled that the man was wearing an old soldiers tunic as a jacket when they arrested him and figured that since Brooks is in the Militia, he may be able to pick up some information on the suspect.

"Joey Masters?" Archibald thought for a while before replying "Why yes, I do know the man, Detective!"

"You know him?"

"Yes. He was a lance corporal that served in the same platoon as me during my regiments first tour of duty in South Africa."

"I see." Murdoch nodded. "Do you remember when did he left the Militia?"

"Let me think...It was a couple of years ago before I got sent over to my third tour of duty, the one that eventually saw my promotion to sergeant. However, I should tell you that he was actually court-martialed, technically."

"Oh? What happened?" Murdoch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Apparently, during our time in South Africa, he and a few lads went off-base to hang out in a bar. They got drunk and then got involved in an embarrassing bar fight with soldiers from a rival company of the same regiment. Before I go on, it should be noted that our regiment had a great reputation of having well-disciplined soldiers and being an elite fighting regiment."

"Okay. Please go on."

"That fight got out of control, and a lieutenant tried to stop it, but one of the lads killed him accidentally. That fight and killing was very embarrassing for our regiment. What they did was disgraceful. Our commanding officer was furious and ordered us back to Canada where the lads involved in the fight and killing were placed on trial. All but one of them were sentenced to a year of hard labour, five years in prison and a demotion, with those at the rank of private at the time being dishonourably discharged from the Militia upon serving their sentences."

"What happened to the one soldier involved in the incident?"

"That troublemaker was good friends with a darn good lawyer. That lawyer managed to manipulate the jury and the judge, convincing them that the punishment for his involvement in the incident is too harsh and questioned the evidence of his involvement in the incident. As a result, he got all charges against him dropped. That soldier was Lance Corporal Joey Masters."

"So if Masters managed to be cleared of those charges, then why did he left the Militia, Sergeant Brooks?"

"Simple. Joey may have been cleared of those charges, but he was not off the hook. The platoon sergeant, with approval from our platoon commander and the captain in charge, suspended him from further participation in the war. He was assigned a desk job instead, but as you may be aware, all of the soldiers of my regiment didn't like him one bit for getting away for what he had done, including me. He quitted about a month after he got acquitted by the military judge."

"I see." Murdoch nodded. "By the way, do you remember the name of Joey's lawyer back then?"

"Let me see...It was a Mr. Garland, if I remembered correctly. I was at the trial and was in fact one of the prosecutor's key witnesses to the incident. You see, I was with the lads at the bar, and when it started, I was one of the soldiers that wasn't drunk and tried to calm things down, but when things got out of control, I asked one of the soldiers to fetch the officers and then tried to stop the fight after the lieutenant was killed."

"I see...Wait, you said 'a Mr. Garland'. Garland...As in Leslie Garland?" Murdoch asked.

"I'm not sure. All I know was his last name was Garland."

"Alright. Well, thank you Sergeant Brooks for your story. It gave me a clear background of one of our two would-be killers."

"You're welcome, detective. I only hope that George makes a speedy recovery from this."

* * *

Soon, back in Station House Four, Murdoch met with Higgins and Lawson after two other constables took over guarding George's room.

"Greg, Henry, I need you two to pull the court records from Joey Masters and Mack Bush's trials." He said to them in his office.

"Not a problem, sir." Henry nodded. "I have a feeling there may be something connecting the two men, and it may be the lawyer that represented them during their respective trials."

After the two constables left his office, Murdoch sat in his office to think about the possibility of Leslie Garland's involvement in this mess.

He first met the younger brother of his wife's first husband during an investigation of the murder of a cyclist. He had later learned that Leslie was expelled from law school for fistcuffs.

His relationship with Leslie can be described as intense and sour. Leslie Garland, posing as his late-enemy James Gillies, was the culprit behind the threatening notes Julia had received, warning her to stop her marriage to William.

He will never forget the time when he, Julia and the inspector ran into Leslie, who was taking Emily out for a date, and confronted him on the threatening notes Julia received. He will never forget Leslie's response, the subsequent slap he received from Emily and the inspector's response to his "joke".

He will eventually be placed on another collision course with Leslie when Leslie was the assistant crown prosecutor assigned in the case against Julia, Emily and the arrested women's suffragists. He did release the other suffragists but kept Emily in custody for assault, although he and Julia eventually put a stop to that by showing the crown prosecutor evidence of Leslie's involvement in threatening him and Julia, prompting the crown prosecutor to withdraw charges against Emily over Leslie's objections.

He will never forget catching Leslie in Julia's office after the O'Shea case, and his stern warning to Leslie on stepping into Julia's office again.

"_If I see you in Doctor Ogden's office again, then I'll take off this badge and deal with you personally-_"

"_I was just-_"

"_Did you not heard what I had just said? Goodbye, Mr. Garland!_"

That was the last time he saw Leslie. And now that there's a possibility that he is involved in the two attempts on his close friend George's life, Murdoch can't help but wonder how will things turned out if he and Julia actually agreed that Leslie shouldn't step foot in Toronto again.

* * *

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	8. Suspicions confirmed

Chapter 8: Suspicions confirmed and Henry's plan

"Sir!" Henry said as he and Lawson made their way into Murdoch's office after a knock on the door.

"What have you, Henry and Greg?" Murdoch asked as he looked up from his paperwork.

"We've got the court records on the cases you've requested and there is something that confirms our suspicions that the two attempts on George's life have connections to the two cases." Lawson says as Henry gave Murdoch the court documents they received.

"Take a look at the defense lawyer that represented the defendants on both cases, sir." Henry added as he pointed the name printed on the document for Murdoch.

The court record for the 1898 case against Joey Masters listed his defense attorney as Leonard Godfrey. Prior to that, Leonard had also represented Mack Bush in the 1897 manslaughter case in Buffalo, as indicated in the court record for the 1897 case.

Both records listed out the names of the parties involved, which includes the judge, the prosecutor assigned to the case, the defendant and the defense attorney. It does not include any witnesses in the record for confidential reasons, but nevertheless, the records were enough for Murdoch to raise an eyebrow.

"Now that's interesting." Murdoch surmised. "What are the chances of two men getting represented by the same lawyer for two different, separate cases?"

"That's beyond coincidence, sir." Henry replied. "Thought you may want to know."

"Excellent." Murdoch nodded. "Have you two checked into the two men's backgrounds?"

"Already done that, sir." Lawson replied as he and Henry pulled out the records on Mack Bush and Joey Masters.

"There is something in both records that secures our suspicions that Leslie Garland is involved in this and that Leonard Godfrey is in fact, an alias, sir." Henry added.

In the records, it was indicated that both Mack and Joey were close friends with Leslie Garland. In fact, the trio were expelled together from university for the same incident - Fisticuffs involving a professor. At that point, Leslie had already received his law degree prior to being expelled from graduate school in university.

After being expelled from university, Joey enlisted in the militia and was eventually appointed lance corporal, confirming Sergeant Brooks' account on his rank at the time he and Masters served in the war.

Meanwhile, Leslie and Mack moved to Buffalo, where Leslie completes his masters degree in law in another university while Mack simply gambles in casinos, falls victim to greed, and ends up killing a man which then led to the 1897 manslaughter case against him.

In spite of having very different lives, Joey, Mack and Leslie remained good friends, and they still kept in touch with one another by writing letters. Murdoch guessed that Leslie must had written about his brothers marriage to his friends and how that marriage was falling apart.

"Very interesting." Murdoch nodded. "Both Leslie Garland and Leonard Godfrey, when you look at their initials, which is 'LG', are one and the same."

* * *

Later in Inspector Brackenreid's office, the trio had just finished updating the inspector of the latest developments in the investigation.

"That bloody coward Mr. Garland! I guess there's no question as to why he represented those two men for those two cases." The inspector remarked after listening to the updates.

"I agree, sir." Murdoch nodded. "The only question is why did he hurt George?"

"I have a feeling it may have something to do with your marriage to Doctor Ogden, sir." Henry suggested.

"Well, if that was the case, then why didn't he hit you or the Doctor? Why pick Crabtree?" Brackenreid asked.

"I believe it was my stern warning to him several months back that prevented him from hurting me or Julia, sir." Murdoch offered. "It is also my belief that he had his friends targeting George, as it doesn't take much for him to figure out how close we are, therefore, he felt that he can hurt both me and Julia by targeting our close, loyal friend George."

"He also done that so you may have difficulties solving crimes without Crabtree's help, Murdoch." Brackenreid nodded.

"But he had forgotten about me, sirs." Henry interjected, and both Murdoch and Brackenreid can hear the anger in his voice.

"Oh, right. Higgins was the one that suggested that we should also check out Bush and Masters' backgrounds after picking up the court records." Lawson added.

"Very impressive, Higgins." Brackenreid praised. "Now, the only thing we have to do is to prove that Mr. Garland is indeed behind the plot."

"Well, sir, if I may suggest, it will be easy if we set up a plan to catch him in the act." Lawson offered.

"Of course. The only question is how do we do so without risking George's life?" Murdoch asked.

There was some silence before Higgins said, "Well, sir, I've got an idea."

* * *

That evening, the figure that masterminded the plot to kill George was sitting in his office reading the evening paper after the visit to Station House Three to meet with his client.

"Darn it! Why did Joe mess it up?" The figure barked frustratingly.

He then looked at the evening paper and saw a news article that caught his interest.

"CASE CLOSED

Attack on police constable case closed as police announces arrest of two suspects, withdraws guards from constables hospital room"

"Huh, case close, eh? They sure won't be seeing me coming to that constables room to finish off the job!" He laughed before putting away the paper, grabbed his coat and fedora and made his way out of his office.

* * *

The hospital was almost empty when he arrived. There were a few doctors and nurses present, many of whom are attending to their duties and looking after patients.

Soon, the man arrived at George's unguarded hospital room. It was dark, but it was alright for him, as he can clearly see George sleeping on his bed.

There, he pulled out the needle he had ready. It was already filled with enough poison to kill a man.

Quietly, he went to George's side and without warning, he stabbed the needle right into George's chest!

Just than, the lights flicked on and a voice said, "Nice try, Mr. Garland."

Leslie turned and to his surprise, it was Henry and Lawson, both armed with their batons, standing at the doorway to George's room. The voice had came from Lawson.

"However, you are about to find out that the figure you just injected poison into is not George." Henry added.

Leslie turned back to the figure he had just stabbed the needle into. He flipped the sheets and realized that it was a dummy wearing a latex mask of George, along with a wig!

"You blasted meddlers!" He said angrily as Henry and Lawson proceeded to handcuff him as Murdoch, Brackenreid, Emily and Edna entered the room.

* * *

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	9. Explanations and the surprise

Chapter 9: Explanations and the surprise

As it turned out, before Leslie got the evening newspaper, Murdoch and company each had tasks to do to put Henry's plan into motion.

Inspector Brackenreid called the Toronto Gazette's publishing office and told the reporter that the case on the investigation on the attempts on George's life has been closed with the arrest of the two suspects.

Meanwhile, Detective Murdoch met with the Crown Prosecutor assigned to the case to hand in the paperwork he had filed, along with the evidence and witness accounts on the events that had transpired.

During this time, Constables Higgins and Lawson met with the doctors at Toronto General and explained the need to move George into the empty room next door. It took some explanation, but eventually, George was moved to the empty room a few rooms down the hallway while his name remained on the door of his original room where the two constables, with assistance from Emily and Julia, set up a dummy on George's bed.

Murdoch later arrived at George's old room and placed a latex mask bearing resemblance to George's face on the "head" of the dummy while Julia and Henry helped with placing the wig on the "head" after the mask was placed.

Eventually, when the evening newspaper is published, Murdoch and company moved to put on their disguises. Murdoch was disguised as a doctor with his back facing the main hallway and wearing a latex mask and a blond wig to conceal his identity (Given that Leslie had seen his face plenty of times before), while the inspector was disguised as a patient being "treated" by Murdoch, wearing a newsboy cap in an angle that covered much of his face and wearing some street clothes.

Meanwhile, Henry had disguised himself as a janitor while Lawson was lying on a hospital bed, disguised as a patient about to be sent to the operating room, being pushed by a nurse that is Edna in disguise.

Outside the hospital, Sergeant Brooks was disguised as a homeless man, sleeping on the bench near the hospital entrance and keeping watch for Leslie.

Once Leslie entered the hospital, Brooks got up and took a shortcut that led him to Henry way ahead of Leslie and told him to be ready.

Henry then nodded, which was a signal for Edna and Lawson to come.

Leslie then walks past a "doctor" treating a "patient", who both then turned and watched Leslie once he walked past the room they were in. Murdoch then took off his mask as he and Brackenreid stealthily shadows Leslie.

Leslie then walked by a janitor mopping the floor two rooms down from George's old room. As soon as he past the janitor, Henry turned to watch Leslie entering George's old room and raised his hand, signalling Edna that she can stop the bed for Lawson to get off.

As Lawson walks past George's new room, he signals Emily to be ready before proceeding to meet up with Henry.

The two constables then peeked into George's old room and watched Leslie Garland stabbing the needle into the dummy. They then flicked the light on as they entered George's old room after Leslie finished injecting the poison into the dummy, which had a small pot hidden inside to collect the poison.

"So to seek your revenge against me and Doctor Ogden, you decided to send your friends to kill George and then finish the job yourself when they got arrested." Murdoch concluded as a few more constables arrived to take Leslie Garland into custody.

"Yeah. It was a brilliant plan, Detective. I wanted to hurt you the same way you hurted my brother, so I decided to go after your next best friend: The constable that is loyal to you." Leslie spat.

"Well, too bad you didn't cover up your tracks that well when you represented those useless takeup of spaces in the court cases against them before." Inspector Brackenreid commented.

"Yes, especially when you used the same alias during the court cases, Mr. Garland." Lawson added.

"And even if you used another alias for one of the two cases, it still didn't take much for us to figure out that you were conspiring with your two friends to kill George." Henry said.

"You know, Mr. Garland, it sure was a pleasure taking part in this scam to catch you doing this." Emily said with a grin that showed no warmth to Leslie.

"Why you..." Leslie was interrupted in mid-sentence by a familiar voice that said, "Take him away, lads!"

Everyone in the room turned. To their surprise, the voice had came from George, who was seated in a wheelchair and accompanied by Julia.

"George!" Emily said excitingly as she turned to hug him, followed by Edna, Henry, Murdoch and the inspector, while the constables took Leslie Garland away.

"Crabtree! Glad to see that you weren't going to sleep forever!" Brackenreid commented as he patted George's back.

"Of course not, sir." George smiled. His voice was weak but has been better since he got out of surgery.

"When did you wake up, George?" Henry asked.

As it turned out, George was accompanied by Julia and Archibald in his new room and he woke up around the time Leslie Garland entered his old room. They managed to keep him quiet and told him about Henry's plan, before getting him onto a wheelchair and wheeled him over to his old room to see the arrest with everyone else in the room.

"That sure was a brilliant plan of yours, Henry." George praised after finishing his recount on how he woke up.

"Oh, it was nothing, George. Everything just sort of came together in my mind when I first saw you in the hospital in a really bad state." Henry smiled. "Besides, I've got help from Constable Lawson from Station House Three."

"Oh, yes, I haven't introduced myself to you, Crabtree." Lawson says as he shook hands with George.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lawson." George smiled after the handshake. "Sure glad you helped Henry with this."

"Actually Crabtree, he was the constable that initially responded to the shooting in the park." Brackenreid interjected.

"Oh? In that case, I should thank you and Emily for saving my life." George replied.

* * *

Later that evening, most of the visitors had returned home.

As George rests on his bed, Edna enters his room.

"George." She began.

"Ah, Edna! I guess you're leaving?"

"Yes. Now before I go, there's something I should tell you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Doctor Grace. There's no one that cuts out one's heart like her. She's the perfect woman for you, George."

"Edna, are you saying..."

"Yes. While she may have hurt your feelings, I think you really should give her another chance."

George nodded.

"But no matter what happens, I'll always care for you, George." Edna continued. "Like you said to me that night when Archie returned, I just wanted you to be happy."

"I understand, Edna." George says before he shared a kiss with Edna. She then got up and bided farewell.

George laid on his bed after the kiss for a while. Then, he saw Emily entering his room.

"George, I sure am happy that you woke up." She said happily as she went to his side.

"And I'm glad to see you again, Emily." He nodded with a smile. "Hope you don't mind staying a bit longer."

"Of course." Emily replied before kissing him.

* * *

**One more chapter to go!**

**The final chapter will have something for George &amp; Emily (Gemily) fans.**

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	10. The surprise

**Here it is, folks! The final chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Epilogue

_February 14, 1903_

It has been almost two months since George survived the shooting during his meeting with Emily in the park. After waking up following the surgery, he spent the next two weeks recovering from his gunshot wound.

Emily will visit him in his room almost everyday, and the duo will often chat happily on certain topics.

Two days after the constables hauled Leslie Garland away from George's room, the chief constable came to visit George at the hospital. He told George that once he fully recovers, he will report for duty at Station House Three, where Inspector Davis will issue him his detective's badge.

After his full recovery, George first took a trip to Station House Four to clear out his desk and bid farewell to the lads, as well as his longtime mentor Detective Murdoch and Inspector Brackenreid. Then, he moved into his new office at Station House Three where he was promptly introduced to the lads working there.

Things in Station House Four is just not the same without George, but with Henry and Jackson doing their best in assisting Detective Murdoch, it's pretty much business as usual at Station House Four, although the lads still miss the now-Detective Crabtree.

Meanwhile, Leslie, Mack and Joey were convicted for conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder, and with testimony from Doctor Grace and Constables Lawson and Higgins, the trio were found guilty by the jury and were sentenced to life behind bars.

In the meantime, George fared well as a detective for Station House Three. It didn't take long for him to solve his first murder as a full detective a week after receiving his new badge, and he had continued regular interaction with Emily in the morgue during cases.

Speaking of him and Emily, they had managed to repair their relationship and continued courting. During their first date since resuming their relationship, they had a great time having dinner in a hotel that is said to be haunted by a ghost and even spent a night in one of the most haunted rooms of the hotel to capture one of the ghosts, which of course turned out to be just some phenomenon explainable by science.

As they continued courting, George and Emily's relationship blossomed towards new heights and it was not long before when George felt the need to give Emily a surprise.

That afternoon, after clearing the murder of an industrial tycoon, with the late tycoon's business partner being the culprit due to his desire to take over the company, George arrived at the morgue, with a bouquet of flowers behind his back, just as Emily was ready to clock out.

"Ah George! What brings you here?" Emily asked as she put on her coat.

George didn't say a word and waited until Emily came to him, ready to go. Then, he showed her the bouquet of flowers he had bought at the flower shop on his way to the morgue.

"George, did you bought these flowers?" Emily squealed excitingly as she saw the flowers.

"Yes I did, Emily. Do you like them?"

"Of course, George! Thank you for the Valentine's Day gift!"

"You're very welcome, Emily." George replied. "However, I have another surprise for you."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I'll rather show you at Station House Four."

A few minutes later, the couple arrived at the entrance of Station House Four, where Emily then said, "Okay, George. What is the surprise?"

George looked around nervously before reaching into his pocket and produced a small box and opened it.

Emily's eyes sparkled as she saw the engagement ring. It was the same one George had used to propose to Edna two months ago prior to the return of her husband.

He then kneeled down in front of her as he said, "Doctor Emily Grace, ever since you took an interest in me in the aftermath of the so-called 'anarchist attack', I have never met any lady, other than Edna of course, who loves me as much as you do. In spite of what we went through in the past year, I have never stopped caring for you. Would you do the honour of becoming my wife?"

Smiling and with tears in her eyes, Emily asked, "Detective George Crabtree, would you do the honour of becoming my husband?"

"I do." George nodded.

"And I do." Emily nodded. Then, she and George shared an embrace and kissed after he slipped the ring into her ring finger.

As they broke their embrace and smiled at each other, Higgins exited the station house and saw them together.

"George!" He exclaimed excitingly before adding, "Doctor Grace."

"Henry, how are you?" George asked.

"I'm good. What brings you and Doctor Grace here?" Henry asked.

Emily raised her hand and showed Henry the engagement ring George just slipped into her finger, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

Henry then slipped back into the station house and in the next moment, all of the lads, including Detective Murdoch, Inspector Brackenreid and Doctor Ogden, who was called over by William after being informed of the news, gathered around George and Emily as they announced their engagement.

"Congratulations, George!" Murdoch complimented as he patted George in the back.

"Congratulations, Emily!" Julia said excitingly as she shared an embrace with Emily.

"Nice going, Crabtree!" Brackenreid praised as he patted George in the back after Henry and most of the lads did so.

* * *

_May 27, 1903_

The church on the nearby Queen St. was filled by a lot of guests attending the wedding.

All of the lads from Station House Four were in attendance, along with their colleagues from Station House Three. Every constable in attendance were in their uniforms, with the exception of Constable Henry Higgins, who is dressed in a suit, due to him being selected to be George's best man.

As best man, Henry was also in charge of holding the wedding rings for George, and he was smart enough to safeguard it in a pocket without a hole.

Inspector Brackenreid, Detective Murdoch, Margaret and Doctor Julia Ogden were seated in the front row of seats, looking forward to the romantic moment in George and Emily's lives.

The Brooks' were in attendance, along with George's aunts, mother, his cousin Penny &amp; her husband Clarence and Emily's parents.

George, wearing his wedding tux, was standing together with Henry and the reverend that served as his guardian when the organist started to play the wedding march.

Everyone in attendance stood up as he and Henry turned to look.

Walking down the hallway was Doctor Emily Grace, dressed in her wedding dress and escorted by her father.

George smiled as Emily came to join them and Edna, who was selected to be Emily's maid of honour. She looked really beautiful with the makeup and wearing the wedding dress.

Emily smiled back at him as she joined them. Soon, the reverend got down to the speech as George and Emily held each others hands before getting down to the key questions.

"George Crabtree, do you agree to take this woman in as your wife and promise to treat her with love, honour and respect?"

"I do." George replied.

Nodding, the reverend turned to Emily as he continued, "Emily Grace, do you agree to take this man in as your husband and promise to treat him with love, honour and respect?"

"I do." Emily nodded.

Then, the reverend turned to Henry and asked, "May I have the rings?"

After Henry passed him the wedding rings, George proceeded to slip the wedding ring onto Emily's ring finger.

Once that is done, the reverend concluded as he said, "Through the power of the Lord, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Turning towards George, he added, "You may kiss the bride."

The crowd erupted into a loud round of applause as George and Emily kissed each other in the lips. The pair are now officially husband and wife!

* * *

After the congratulations from their friends and colleagues, including from Detective Murdoch, Inspectors Brackenreid and Davis, Doctor Ogden, Henry and the Brooks', they had a party outside the church and it didn't took long before the newly wed couple departs for their honeymoon.

"Have a nice honeymoon, Georgie." One of George's aunts said to him as they gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Aunt Daisy, I sure will, and I will send a postcard." George replied as Emily smiled.

"Do have fun and don't forget to send us a postcard, Crabtree." Inspector Brackenreid said as he patted George's back.

"I sure will, sirs." George nodded as he saw Davis, Murdoch and Doctor Ogden approaching him and Emily.

After being left alone with Murdoch, William said to him, "I sure find it hard to believe that you and Doctor Grace have finally got married just a year after Julia and I did, George."

"I know, sir. To be honest, just last year I wasn't even sure if Emily and I can get back together."

"Well, you did quite a good job winning her back, George. I do hope you and Doctor Grace have a great honeymoon."

"Thank you, sir."

Meanwhile, Julia have went to join Emily.

"Julia, I really can't describe how excitingly the wedding was." Emily was saying

"I know, Emily." Julia smiled. "It sure was interesting that you and George decided to get married a year after William and I did."

"I agree. I guess George and I choose the date so we can celebrate our anniversaries together." Emily laughed, and Julia joined in.

Soon, the newly wed couple got onto their carriage after several goodbyes from their friends and colleagues.

As the carriage departs from the church, Emily turned to George.

"So this is it, Mr. Crabtree." She said.

"Yes indeed, Mrs. Crabtree." George smiled. "Or do you prefer to continue with Doctor Grace?"

"Either names works for me, although I do prefer "Dr. Grace", George." Emily smiled.

George nodded before he and Emily shared another kiss as the carriage drove off into the horizon.

* * *

**And this is it, folks! The George and Emily wedding.**

**I sure wonder if anyone else have George marrying Emily in their fanfics?**

**To be honest, I actually don't mind George being paired with Edna, although I'm still more inclined towards George and Emily.**

**After watching the episode _Murdoch Takes __Manhattan_, one of the things that came into my mind was whether the authors was going to go for a love triangle between George, Emily and Edna in future episodes (Turns out they didn't as they introduced Lillian Moss for Emily).**

**What do you think about this ending? Please read and review!**


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